1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to performing a copy offload operation in a storage system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Maintaining data is an essential part of operating a business, whether for product development, human resources, finance, or otherwise. As part of the maintenance of such data, the need to create copies of the data often arises for any of a variety of reasons. One approach to creating copies involves a client (e.g., coupled to a storage system via a network) being actively engaged in the copy process. In this approach the client processor(s) initiates and manages transactions which are conveyed to the storage device throughout the copy process. As such, the client processor is busy with the copy operation and generally unable to engage in other work. Another approach to copying data involves offloading the management of the copy process to another processor(s). For example, the copy process may be offloaded to a storage system which then manages the copy process. Such an approach may be referred to as “copy offload.” In this manner, the client is generally freed to perform other work while the copy is being performed. A copy offload operation refers to an operation in which the storage system copies data (often large quantities of data) from one location to another, either within a single volume or between two volumes.
In view of the above, systems and methods for efficiently performing copy offload operations are desired.